My inspiration for this record of my days:

“The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less” -Anna Quindlen

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Performers

A couple of months ago the kids had their first real performance opportunity. Well… they’ve sung in church several times, but I mean real entertaining!

The gig was a fundraiser for child abuse prevention. Perfect, right? They were scheduled for a 20 min show. No problem. It was for a good cause.

To make sure we were ready, (they performed with the Allen cousins) we scheduled a “practice run” performance at the Pima County Fair the week before. Here are the kids all waiting to go on stage. (Most of the time they were performing I was too busy helping to get pictures!)

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I can’t even tell you how many tears of frustration were shed during practices! Tears from the kids, tears from the moms trying to teach the songs, tears from aunts that were innocent observers, trying to help where they could. It was a real battle trying to get 10 kids to cooperate all at the same time.

To be fair,I have to say that the girls were willing. They worked hard. But even they got tired and worn out. The boys… well my boys anyway… almost drove us all to the point of insanity! Never again will I attempt something like that with them.

That being said… they did such a good job! I was so impressed that a group of young kids could sound so amazing. They sang in 3 part harmony, with even the youngest ones holding their own parts. The four oldest girls even did a quartet, and nailed it. Impressive! (This picture was taken at the fair.)IMG_3159

The best part about the fundraiser experience was the way they felt after they performed. They felt so accomplished and proud. And rightly so! The crowd (over 400 people) was thrilled with them. They were nervous at first, but once they got up there they overcame the nerves and enjoyed performing.

For our last song we brought the kids’ moms, dads and aunts up to sing “Can you feel the love tonight” all together. I had goosebumps as I sang. It sounded so full and beautiful. Standing up there with my family, I felt grateful. Grateful that I can provide a loving, happy (and maybe a little chaotic) home for these sweet children. Grateful that I have such an amazing extended family that makes my kids feel like a part of something big. Grateful for the gift of music that has been a part of my family for generations. And grateful to have a way that I, and my kids, can serve and lift others.

And the scars from practicing will heal.

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